A readily installed encirclement to stabilize, and if desired also to anchor bundles of wires.
Mechanisms and apparatus which utilize electrical and electronic systems invariably contain groups of wires that must be held in a disciplined arrangement in bundles lest they tangle or catch on something. Such risks frequently exist during assembly, transportation and repair.
Also, in the absence of some orderliness, the attachment of many wires to as many terminals is vastly confused if there is a tangle of wires. Accordingly, it is common practice to bundle groups of wires to the extent that the apparatus allows.
When a group of wires is to be bundled (a process sometimes called xe2x80x9ccablingxe2x80x9d), the wires are laid out and then held as a group by some kind of encirclement. If such preliminary subassembly is not possible, the group will later be gathered and encircled.
Then, and this is especially the situation in vehicles, it often is desirable to anchor the assembled bundle so as to stabilize it against moving around or sagging.
Encirclement devices and anchors are well-known in the prior art. Anything that will gather and hold a group of wires together, or hold them to a structure will suffice for the purpose. Even a piece of cord can do the job. Because of this simple objective, solutions to encirclement and anchoring requirements are numerous, and is a matter of some surprise that improvements are still possible at this day.
One reason is because assembly-line time has become a serious economic burden, and needs to be reduced as much as possible. A device which is even slightly quicker to install and adds little if anything to the cost is much desired.
In addition, repetitive motion injuries have become a serious concern. A device which requires finger manipulation and careful alignment can lead to anatomical damage of the installer, as well as to a lesser quality of the work that he does.
It is an object of this invention to provide an encirclement (sometimes herein called a xe2x80x9cclipxe2x80x9d) that needs only to be pressed over a group of wires, and its two arms pressed against one another. No more than a shove and a pinch. For anchoring, which is optional, a self-retentive spear can be stabbed into a structural opening. That is all.
It is another object of the invention to provide an encirclement that can be molded from organic plastic resin, at rapid production rates and at minimal cost.
An encirclement according to this invention is a ring-like structure made of stiffly flexible shape-retention material. It is preferably molded from a thermoplastic organic resin. It includes a base segment and a pair of opposed arm segments. Each arm segment carries a latch segment with an angular latch tooth which engage each other when crossed past one another and released.
The arm segments and latch segments each have a bearing face that lies in a common central plane so that when the latch teeth are engaged, the bearing faces bear against each other.
Preferably in the relaxed condition, the latch segments are spaced from one another and are angularly related to form a channel through which a bundle of wires can readily be passed when the encirclement is around it.
The above and other features of this invention will be fully understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which: